The present invention relates to a push button slide switch in which fixed contacts are arranged in an elongated housing of insulated material, and in which a slider carrying movable contacts, is displaceably arranged, and in which, in a cutout of the housing wall, a tongue-like movable retaining member is molded thereto, with the latter engaging in a rectangular cutout in the slider. Moreover, the invention relates to a tool for lifting the retaining member.
It is often desirable in the case of push button slide switches, to be able to take out the slider in order to replace either the movable contacts or the springs which are connected with the slider. Attempts, therefore, have always been made for designing a push button slide switch in such a way that the slider itself can be easily removed.
One type of push button slide switch comprising easily removable sliders, for example, is known from the German Petty Pat. No. 1,671,915. In order to replace the slider of this conventional type of push button slide switch, the limit stop web must be pulled out in this type of embodiment, vertically to the direction of slider movement. This, of course, is easily possible in cases where the switch is freely accessible from all sides. In its built-in condition, however, the switch is mostly only accessible from the front, so that it is impossible to replace parts which have to be removed vertically in relation to the direction of movement of the slider.
It has been tried, therefore, to design push button slide switches in such a way that the slider can be replaced from the front side. One such switch has become known from the German Pat. No. 1,233,456.
In this type of switch, a support member firmly retaining a U-shaped latch in its position, has to be pulled back which, in turn, engages with its legs in recesses provided for in the slider preventing the latter from being pulled out. Accordingly, for removing the slider, the support member has to be pulled back and, in the pulled back state of the support member, the U-shaped latch can be removed in the upward direction.
Another type of push button slide switch comprising a slider removable towards the front side, is known from the German Pat. No. 1,240,157. In this type of switch, for replacing the slider, a support member must likewise be pulled back in opposition to the action of a spring and, at the same time, a retaining member must be removed from an opening in the switch housing. In another type of embodiment of this conventional push button slide switch, subsequently to the pulling back of the support member, the slider must be pulled slantingly in the forward direction and tilted upwardly out of the push button housing.
In these conventional types of embodiments, of course, the slider can be removed towards the front side from the switch, but this requires the removal of individual switch parts, or else the slider cannot be pulled out of the housing straight forward, but only in a tilted position, thus increasing the space requirement for removing the slider.
Finally, from the German Pat. No. 1,260,586 there is known a push button slide switch, in which the slider is retained in the housing by a U-shaped latch. This latch, in turn, is retained in its position by a support member loaded by the reset spring. By pulling back the support member in opposition to the action of the spring, with the aid of a suitable tool, it is possible to pull the U-shaped latch in the upward direction out of the push button housing, and thereafter, to move the slider towards the front out of the switch housing.
This type of embodiment, however, requires so much space to be available, that the latch can be removed in the upward direction from the switch housing. This is mostly not the case when switches are built into a front panel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a push button slide switch permitting the slider to be taken out of the housing on the front side without requiring parts of the switch to be removed and with the slider having to be tilted before permitting it to be removed. Moreover, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple tool for removing the slider from such types of push button slide switches.